Chapter 20 What else are we if not brothers...?

Peng Chengyi took a few seconds to react, then widened her eyes in disbelief: "How did you know I ran away from home?"

When she bumped into him in the hallway, afraid he would notice her tears welling up, she didn't dare lift her head. Apart from being slightly stern with him, she was almost no different from usual.

“You’re not wearing a coat and you’re still wearing slippers,” Chen Yubai said calmly, his gaze sweeping over her lightly. “You must have had a huge fight with your family and ran out without thinking about anything.”

Peng Chengyi looked down at the little yellow duck slippers on her feet and let out a slightly embarrassed "Ah".

A chilly night breeze swept by at that moment, and she couldn't help but sneeze a little.

"Tell me, what did you argue about?" Chen Yubai took off his black hoodie and threw it into her arms.

Peng Chengyi instinctively caught the coat, which still held his body heat, and looked up blankly: "Aren't you cold?"

"It's not cold, it's hot." Chen Yubai casually sat down on the swing next to her. "Hurry up and tell me what you're talking about."

Peng Chengyi was speechless for a moment.

If it were before, she would have already poured out all her grievances to him.

But the culprit behind this argument was sitting right in front of her, so she could only mumble vaguely, "It's about... the monthly exam results and stuff."

Chen Yubai turned his head to glance at her: "Didn't you do quite well on the exam this time?"

“But you’re not as good as me,” she blurted out.

"So it's because of me?" He reacted very quickly, grasping the key point in one sentence.

"..." Peng Chengyi was stunned and could not take back what she had just said. She could only nod. "My parents always like to compare me with you, especially after your grades improved. They keep saying how smart, how excellent, and how worry-free you are."

“And I need to keep working hard so that they can continue to love me, their daughter who is inferior to you in every way. So today I couldn’t help but say it: let them recognize you as their son, why are they still raising me…”

Chen Yubai listened quietly as she finished speaking. The swing swayed slightly, and he lowered his head, his voice deepening: "I'm sorry."

Peng Chengyi was stunned for a moment, then turned her head and said with a wry smile, "Why are you apologizing? This is not your fault. On the contrary, I was the one who took my anger out on you several times because of the pressure from my parents comparing me to you, and even said bad things about you anonymously on the forum. I should apologize to you more."

Chen Yubai paused on the swing, then raised his dark eyes: "Oh, it really is you."

Peng Chengyi's lips twitched slightly: "...Does it really have to be this time to settle scores?"

"I just wanted to test my judgment. Haven't you said enough bad things about me before? If I were to settle accounts with you one by one, I'd be counting on my next life." Chen Yubai snorted softly.

Peng Chengyi pursed her lips and said softly, "Well... considering how well my parents always speak highly of you, let's just call it even."

Chen Yubai couldn't help but smile: "You're so good at accounting, you should study finance in the future."

Peng Chengyi: "You know what, I've actually considered it."

Chen Yubai: "..."

Although their conversation veered off-topic and he didn't say anything to comfort her, Peng Chengyi's mood gradually improved.

The clouds in the night sky were gradually dispersed by the wind, revealing a bright full moon that illuminated the two people swaying gently on the swing and the beach in front of them.

"Do you remember this beach over there?" Peng Chengyi asked.

"Mm," Chen Yubai replied.

Peng Chengyi's tone began to slyly reveal itself: "Then do you still remember..."

Chen Yubai glanced at her: "Don't even think about making me ride your horse again."

Peng Chengyi's eyebrows curved into a smile: "How did you know I was going to say that?"

Chen Yubai: "What else can you possibly say out of that mouth of yours?"

Peng Chengyi: "You insulted me."

Chen Yubai raised an eyebrow: "What did I say to you?"

Peng Chengyi: "You called me a dog."

Chen Yubai: "I never said you couldn't say anything nice."

"You've said it now!" Peng Chengyi tugged at his swing and shook it violently.

Chen Yubai smiled, glanced at her as the redness at the corners of her eyes completely faded, and stood up: "Going home?"

Peng Chengyi paused, remained silent for two seconds, and then jumped off the swing: "Let's go back."

Although she still hadn't figured out how to face her parents.

But she didn't want a missing person ad in the newspaper tomorrow.

-

Back in the apartment building, Chen Yubai looked at Peng Chengyi, whose hand was hovering over the door, unable to knock, and asked in a low voice, "Do you want me to knock for you and then go in with you?"

"Forget it, otherwise my parents might think I went out for a stroll just to bring you over to be their son, which would only add fuel to the fire." Peng Chengyi gave an awkward laugh.

"That's true." Chen Yubai paused, his thin lips moving slightly, as if he wanted to say something more.

The door in front of me suddenly swung open from the inside.

Peng Chengyi was stunned. Before her hand could even leave his hand, Zhou Lifen pulled her into her arms.

"Oh my god! Chengcheng, you're finally back! I was so worried about you!"

"You're out so late at night, without even wearing a coat or changing your shoes. Where on earth have you gone?"

As she muttered to herself, she released Peng Chengyi, who was still in a daze, and carefully examined her, afraid that something might be wrong with her.

Seeing Zhou Lifen's anxious and worried expression, Peng Chengyi pursed his lips awkwardly and said softly, "I actually just took a walk in the nearby park."

"It's alright, it's alright, it's good that you're back..." Zhou Lifen breathed a sigh of relief. "I need to send a message to your dad right away, he's still looking for you outside."

As she spoke, she hurriedly went back inside to find her phone.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Lifen didn't say a word of scolding, and Peng Weiguo had already gone out to look for her everywhere. Peng Chengyi was stunned at the door again.

It wasn't until Chen Yubai lightly flicked her forehead with his finger and said with a half-teasing laugh, "Look, Aunt Zhou was hugging you for a long time and didn't even notice I was here. What are you worried about?"

"..."

That's true.

She had only been gone from home for less than two hours, but her parents were already frantic with worry.

How could she doubt that they would stop loving her just because her grades weren't as good as Chen Yubai's?

Coming to her senses, Peng Chengyi smiled slightly and said, "Thank you for tonight. I'm going home now."

"Aren't you going to give me back my clothes?" Chen Yubai reached out and pulled on the hood of her sweatshirt.

Peng Chengyi paused, then turned around with an embarrassed laugh: "Hehe, I forgot."

Chen Yubai: "What can you remember?"

Peng Chengyi: "I can remember that you used to be my horse."

Chen Yubai: "...You should just forget about that."

Peng Chengyi's face broke into a smile: "I'm sorry, I'll never forget this."

Chen Yubai: "..."

-

Because of the little farce of running away from home before the holiday, Peng Chengyi had an incredibly pleasant National Day holiday.

Her parents not only didn't constantly urge her to study, but they would even remind her to balance work and rest after she had studied on her own for most of the day.

When mentioning Chen Yubai's name again, they became much more cautious.

They were afraid that this would make her think that they wanted Chen Yubai to be their son even more.

“If I had known, I would have confronted them sooner. I just left with my guitar on my back, and my mom let me go without asking a single question. I had even prepared my reasons.” Peng Chengyi said, sitting on the edge of Chen Yubai’s bed, holding her guitar.

"What reason did you originally come up with?" Chen Yubai plugged in the speaker and turned his head.

"This." Peng Chengyi took out a few monthly exam papers from the outside pocket of the violin case. "I'd like to ask you for some study tips and maybe play the violin a bit."

Chen Yubai glanced down at the test paper in her hand and said, seemingly serious but not quite, "Since you brought the test paper, why don't I go over the questions with you first?"

"...No! I've been studying all day! My parents said I should relax, so please stop messing with me." Peng Chengyi quickly stuffed the test papers back into her violin case.

Chen Yubai smiled, opened his guitar case, and took out his guitar.

"Today, the Great Sage taught me a string bending technique for playing glissando."

As he spoke, he demonstrated it to her on the guitar.

"Oh, this looks pretty simple." Peng Chengyi pressed the strings, imitated his movements, and then looked up. "I've learned it, next one."

Chen Yubai glanced at her speechlessly: "...You didn't even push that note up properly, how did you learn it?"

"Huh? Didn't you push it up?" Peng Chengyi was taken aback, then pushed it up again with all her might. "How about this?"

"You pushed it too far." Chen Yubai paused, then demonstrated it to her again. "You only need to push it by a semitone."

"Then how do I tell that it was pushed by a semitone?" Peng Chengyi asked, puzzled.

Chen Yubai: "Can't you tell?"

Peng Chengyi shook her head: "If I can't tell, do you think you can?"

Chen Yubai: "Mm."

Peng Chengyi remained silent for a while, then hugged his guitar and collapsed onto his bed in despair.

"Oh no, so you're the real guitar genius. I'm just an ordinary person with no sense of pitch."

"Aaaaah, destroy it!"

Chen Yubai glanced at Peng Chengyi, who was rolling around on his bed, and said slowly, "I couldn't tell right away either. I practiced for a long time after I got back before I found the feeling."

"..." Peng Chengyi paused, then sprang up from the bed. "Oh, I'm good again."

Chen Yubai: "It feels like your parents have stopped comparing you to me, but you've started comparing yourself to me again."

“…It’s just a bit of inertia.” Peng Chengyi pursed her lips and steered the conversation back on track, asking, “So, pitch can be developed through training?”

“The Great Sage said it’s possible. There’s a method called sight-singing and ear training.” Chen Yubai said, plucking the strings with his slender fingers. “For example, I’ll give you a C, and then use that note as a standard. Listen to what note I play next.”

"Ah, wait, play that C again, I've forgotten its pitch," Peng Chengyi said hurriedly.

"..." Chen Yubai paused as he changed the string, then played it for her again. "Did you remember it?"

"I've got it." Peng Chengyi stared at his fingers and nodded nervously.

Chen Yubai glanced at her: "With your eyes closed, you can only rely on your ears to hear."

"Oh." Peng Chengyi could only close her eyelashes.

Chen Yubai then moved his fingertips and plucked the second note: "Speak."

With her mind completely blank, Peng Chengyi randomly guessed "E".

"Not nearly there, it's G."

"No, this is too difficult! And what does practicing this have to do with my ability to play music?" Peng Chengyi opened her eyes and questioned with a pained expression.

"Didn't you say you wanted to become a guitar hero? Then you can't just play the guitar by reading sheet music." Chen Yubai gave her a deep look.

"..." Peng Chengyi, who finally realized how immature she had been, laughed awkwardly and adjusted her goal, saying, "Let's forget about the hero. I just want to form a band and have some fun."

"You still need to learn string bending. If you have a poor ear, just practice more to develop muscle memory," Chen Yubai said.

"Okay, I can do this."

Peng Chengyi obediently pressed the strings and lowered her head again.

When she looked up again, her fingers were almost cramping from pushing.

"What time is it?" She glanced at Chen Yubai, who was practicing the piano at his desk without the power on.

"It's almost 11 o'clock," Chen Yubai said.

"Oh? It's so late!" Peng Chengyi quickly put down her guitar and stood up. "I thought it was still early because Aunt Lin hadn't come back yet."

"She's on duty tonight and won't be coming back," Chen Yubai said calmly.

"Damn it, why didn't you say so sooner! I was thinking that I would go home whenever she came back."

"You didn't ask earlier," Chen Yubai shrugged innocently.

"...But my mom didn't send me a message urging me to go back." Peng Chengyi picked up her phone from the table and glanced at it.

"Maybe you're afraid that if I rush you, you'll get upset and won't want to go home tonight," Chen Yubai joked lazily.

Peng Chengyi glanced at him speechlessly, then lowered her head and stuffed the guitar back into its case.

She had zipped up halfway when she looked up as if she remembered something: "But now that you mention it, I think I could take this opportunity to ask my mom if I can stay out tonight."

"..." Chen Yubai was taken aback, and reminded her with a subtle expression, "My mother is not home tonight."

“Yeah, that’s exactly when the adults aren’t home!” Peng Chengyi blinked innocently and recommended it to him. “Zheng Xinyue said that when her parents aren’t home, she and her childhood friends have pajama parties at home, eating snacks, watching movies, and gossiping. It’s really fun. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’d like to give it a shot.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Yubai couldn't help but scoff: "Try what? You really consider me a brother?"

“Yes.” Peng Chengyi nodded, giving him a strange look. “Otherwise, what would you be?”

Chen Yubai choked up and fell silent.

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Author's Note: [Facepalm peeking][Facepalm peeking][Facepalm peeking]

Thank you to Big Winter Melon, 07, Soleil, A Poor Name Wants to Stay Up Half the Night, and Gray Rabbit's Haru Rabbit for the nutrient solution! [Heart emoji]